His Last Hope
by southpark33
Summary: Mort Rainey discovers a daughter he never knew he had and realizes that she may be the way for him to find his way back into the normal world.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER- I own nothing from Secret Window except for Autumn and her whole storyline. **

Mort Rainey stared at the ceiling like he often did when he was trying to think of what the fuck to write about. Sometimes he wondered why he was still a writer, but it was the only thing he knew how to do, really. He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to drift into sleep. Ever since the whole John Shooter ordeal he was a better man, a braver and more confident man, but he had to pay a terrible price for it-he was now a social outcast in the town he lived in. Sure, he could move out of Tashmore Lake and find a new place to start a new life, but he couldn't risk anyone finding the two secrets that he had buried in the little garden outside.

"Maybe it'll all pass." he told himself. "Maybe, just maybe…"

Just then, as he was about to drift into the sleep that he so desperately wanted, he heard a knock on the door. He looked up in a sleepy daze. Why did people always have to disturb him during his most peaceful moments? With a groan, he pushed himself off the couch and slowly walked towards the door. He opened the door and found himself looking at a young woman, quite young from what he could gather. Strangely, she looked as if she didn't really want to be there; most of the people who knocked on his door had a very important purpose for being there. Something else strange about her was that she looked very familiar. He looked her up and down. She had dirty blonde hair that reached down to her shoulder blades that were very prominent as she was tall and thin, about 5'6 he guessed. She was wearing a tight fitting Rolling Stones t-shirt and dark jeans and simple chucks. Small silver hoop earrings glinted at her ears as she stood in the sunlight. She had pale skin and lips that seemed like they were stuck in a slight pout. She adjusted her glasses and looked at him through big brown eyes. There was something so familiar about those eyes, but he just couldn't place it. Maybe he had seen her around town or something. After a few moments of looking each other over the girl finally decided to speak.

"Hi." she managed to get out in a slightly shaky voice. She really did seem slightly scared and it unnerved him a little bit. It made the mood even more awkward.

"Young lady, is there something I can do for you? I'm kind of busy, see, I'm a writer and I'm trying to work on a story."

"Well, I guess that you could say that I'm here for more of a personal reason." Seeing the slightly annoyed look on Mort's face she quickly added "And don't worry, I'm not some obsessive reader that tracked you down to this place to ask you for your autograph."

"Well, that's always good to know." he replied with a slight grin. She in turn gave a nervous smile in which she showed all of her bright white, even teeth. She was a very pretty little girl, but there was still something so familiar about that smile, which unnerved him even more. It was all starting to get very confusing.

"Um, well, I guess I should just get to the point of why I'm down here. You see Mr. Rainey, my name is Autumn Goss. My parents adopted me when I was about three months old. Well, I was pretty much raised by my aunt and uncle 'cause the two bastards loved their jobs more than me, but whatever, until recently I never knew who my real parents were…"

"Um, excuse me, this is all really sad and all, but why are you telling ME this?" Mort asked the girl, more confused than ever and kind of tired of her babbling.

"Well, I was about to get to that. Last year my parents died in a car crash and because of that I was given a blood test to find out who my real parents were in case I wanted to go into their custody. I chose to stay with my aunt and uncle, but I went along with the blood test because I was curious as to who my real parents were. And when the test came back, the results read that I was the child of…a Mrs. Amy Rainey…and Mr. Mort Rainey."

Mort felt his eyes widen and his mouth open ever so slightly. What was this girl saying? That he had a kid? That she was his…

"Oh no, you…you can't be my daughter, the only child my wife and I had was-"

"A miscarriage? Well, you were wrong about that. Some papers from my adoption settlement said that while you and Amy Rainey were dating you had a long separation."

He momentarily allowed his mind to wander back to that time. It was when they had been together for about three years, one day Amy just stormed out, saying that he loved writing more than he loved her. Suddenly his mind was wrenched back as the girl, Autumn, spoke again.

"Well, she never told you, but she was pregnant when she left. She never had an abortion; she just decided to give me up to adoption. The reason she gave was that she felt that you both weren't ready to raise a child. I…I guess she didn't anticipate that you two would get married almost as soon as you got back together."

Mort couldn't believe what this girl was saying. He couldn't, he wouldn't, NO! But the more he thought about it the more it made sense. Amy always had issues; she probably thought he wouldn't take her back if she turned up with a kid. She must have been born the year he and Amy had gotten married, they were together for thirteen years, and it was one year since Shooter surfaced from his screwed-up head and they had gotten divorced. That would make this girl about fourteen years old, about the age she looked when she was standing right in front of him. And he began to realize why she looked so familiar. She had his ex-wife's skin, her tall and thin frame, her bright smile, and she had his dirty blonde hair, his slightly pouted lips, and his eyes. No wonder she looked so familiar...no wonder those eyes looked so familiar……no, what was he thinking? Amy was a bitch, but she wouldn't keep a secret this big from him. Without warning, as the result of too much confusion and denial, he blew up.

"Okay, look little girl! I don't know how you came up with this…this whole thing," he said as he waved his hands through the air, "but I cannot be your father and my ex-wife cannot be your mother! She was a lying little thing, sure, but she would have told me about a KID!" he yelled, losing his self control.

She looked up at him, unfazed. He could tell she expected this kind of reaction.

"I kind of thought you would say something like that." she said, almost like she was reading his mind. "That's why I brought these papers." She reached into a messenger bag that was slung around one of her shoulders and pulled out a file of documents and handed it to him.

"Look, I didn't come here expecting to have one of those magical father-child moments that you see in the movies after the kid finds their real parents, because those just make me want to puke my fucking guts out. I just thought that you might want to know that you have a daughter somewhere out in the world and I just wanted to kind of see my real parents for myself and since Amy Rainey is apparently missing or dead, you're all I've got. I just figured I should talk to you face to face at least once in my life."

Mort just stared at her. Shit, this girl even sounded like him.

"Well, that's it. It was good to meet you Mr. Rainey." She closed her bag and started to walk away from the house. She looked back to him one last time and smiled at him.

"Just to let you know, I've read a book of your short stories. I liked it a lot." She walked a little farther and added "And I'm not just saying that!" With that she mounted a bike that was propped up by the path and pedaled away without another word.

Mort didn't know what hit him. He took one last look at her and then looked down at the file full of papers. He practically ran back inside to look through the papers. It was all there. Every bit of information about her ordeal. Court papers, DNA test results, a birth certificate, it all confirmed every word the girl (her name was Autumn, wasn't it?) said. Shit, it was true. He had a kid. He…had…a…kid…

"I'm a father." he told himself in a hushed tone. He ran outside in a wild manner, the early fall air slightly chilling him and invigorating him even more.

"I'M A FUCKING FATHER!!!!!!" he yelled out to the lake in front of him. Then he just stood there for a while and began to think. Would he ever see the girl again? Maybe, all the transportation she had was that bike. She must live nearby. He had to chuckle lightly to himself. He had a daughter within a short distance of him and he didn't even know it. It was almost hysterical. His whole world had literally been forever changed in the course of a few minutes.

"Wow." was all he could say. "This is different."

**Please R&R, it's always appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER- I still don't own anything, please don't sue! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!**

When Mort woke up the next morning he found that he had fallen asleep looking through the girl's papers. No, he had to stop calling her just "the girl". Like it or not she was his daughter. He should call her Autumn, her real name. It was a nice name, really, now that he thought about it. He looked around his house. Since everything had happened he had turned over a new leaf. Almost all the furniture was new, except for the couch that Mort couldn't bear to part with. He had replaced the bathroom mirror and shower door he broke and mended the places where he carved "Shooter" into the walls. Everything that had once just been carelessly strewn around the house was now clean and organized. There was now a set of weights in the corner of the room which had given him some new muscles, which was better than the just thin and weedy form he had a while ago. So much had changed that at this point a new daughter shouldn't have fazed Mort, but it really did. And what was strange was that the father instinct was already starting to kick in. Not that he wanted to just up and adopt her and live happily ever after, but he felt an urge to get to know her better. Damn, he still knew how to love. He was afraid he lost that after Amy and after the people down in town labeled him an outcast and banished him to shop in New London. Wait, what was he saying? He couldn't love her. Not yet, not when he had just met her yesterday.

"I guess it's the whole father to kid thing. Or the fact that Amy and I ended up wanting a kid so badly." he mumbled. "I already know I care about her." He looked down at the papers again. He looked through them for what seemed like the thousandth time. As he was looking through them he took notice of something he hadn't noticed before.

_Contact Information for Autumn Goss-_

_Current Adress-__1569 Carbon Road, New London, New York (lives with guardians Maureen and Harry Goss)_

_Phone Number(s)-__238-1756 (home telephone)_

He read it again. She really did live nearby. He looked up at the phone and thought for a moment. Then he bit the bullet and picked up the receiver, dialed the number, and waited for someone to answer. He almost lost the nerve, but then he heard a man's voice on the other line.

_"Hello, Goss residence."_

"Um, hi, I was just wondering if um…if Autumn was there."

_"Who's calling?"_ asked the man with a slightly protective overtone.

"This is Mort Rainey."

_"Oh! So Autumn did go by your house yesterday."_

"Oh yeah, she did. Gave me the shock of my life." Mort replied, trying to be witty.

_"Yeah, I told her it might be a bit too forward, but I guess it worked out if you're calling back."_

"Guess so. You must be her uncle."

_"Yes, save for a lack of blood relation."_ he answered with a chuckle. _"Well, I won't keep you waiting, I'll go get her for you."_

Mort heard the receiver being set down and a faint yell for Autumn to come downstairs. Then he heard the receiver being picked up again."

_"Hey Mr. Rainey."_

"Hey. Um, you don't have to call me Mr. Rainey, I am your father after all."

_"Is Dad fine?"_ she asked, sounding like she had been waiting for him to say that. He couldn't help but smile.

"Sure, it's just fine. I was wondering, um, if maybe sometime you would want to come over here. You know, so we could get to know each other a little better."

_"Sure. I'd like that."_ Autumn replied with a hint of nervousness but also a hint of a smile in her voice.

"Good. So, when do you think you can come by?"

_"How about one day after I get out of school? I could be at your house around three on days when I don't have basketball practice."_

"Alright. So…I guess I'll see you then."

_"Yeah. See you later Dad."_

"Autumn?" Mort quickly added.

_"Yeah Dad?"_

"Just so you know I'm learning this whole parent thing from top to bottom on my own. So please give me a break if I screw up." God, that sounded stupid, but it was true. This whole thing really did have him scared shitless.

Autumn chuckled. _"Well, I've never had a father before, so I'm liable to screw up too. Bye Dad."_

"Goodbye Autumn." With that he set down the receiver and held his face in his hands. What the hell had he gotten himself into?

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Even in the fall chill Autumn's brow was gleaming with sweat after she practiced her basketball drills. She undid the messy bun that her hair was in and shook her hair around, desperately trying to clear her head. What the hell was happening? Why did she even go down to Mort Rainey's house in the first place? Now she didn't know what was going to happen and that scared her more than anything else. But the fact that he called her back had made her so happy. To tell the truth she really didn't expect to hear anything else from him.

But he called her.

Asked her to come over.

Told her that he wanted to get to know her.

And all of that just made her want to jump up and down and scream.

"Autumn? It's getting dark and you've already been doing drills for over an hour. It's time to come back inside, it's getting cold out there!"

"Alright, I'll be right there Maureen." She dribbled the ball for a while and made one last shot. She had never really called anyone by a "title" before. She had always called her "aunt and uncle" by their first names even though they pretty much raised her from the time she was adopted and near the end she called her own "parents" by their first names. No Mom and Dad in their house, just Jennifer and Paul. And yet here she was calling a man she just met yesterday Dad. It was all hard to believe. Too hard to believe, in fact. So why was she enjoying it so much?


End file.
